1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof, and, more particularly, to a structure of a display apparatus that can achieve reduction in thickness.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flat panel display apparatuses represented by a liquid crystal display apparatus are applied to various fields, taking advantage of such features as light weight, thin shape and low power consumption. In particular, a liquid crystal display apparatus is widely applied to mobile information apparatuses represented by personal computers.
In recent years, there is a demand for further reduction in thickness of the liquid crystal display apparatus. To meet the demand, there is an idea that a thin glass substrate is used. However, fabrication with use of a glass substrate that has a thickness of less than 0.5 mm may lead to a decrease in manufacturing yield, since conveyance, etc. thereof is difficult because of a problem of bending due to its own weight. A display apparatus formed with such a substrate may easily suffer crack or chip at its end part due to weak shock, and moreover the entirety of the apparatus may be broken. There is an alternative idea that a resin film, for instance, is used in place of the glass substrate. This, however, is not practical since constraints such as film formation temperatures are imposed
On the other hand, a manufacturing method has been proposed, wherein the outer surface of one of substrates that are components of the liquid crystal apparatus is thinned by etching (see, e.g. Japanese Patent No. 2678325). According to this manufacturing method, one of the substrates is thinned to about 0.1 to 0.2 mm by etching, while the other substrate is about 0.3 to 1.1 mm thick and has a high strength as the substrate. Moreover, a sufficient strength of the liquid crystal display apparatus is achieved.
The liquid crystal display apparatus fabricated by this manufacturing method, however, still fails to realize the reduction in thickness and weight that is required in the market. With this manufacturing method, it is not possible to manufacture a liquid crystal display apparatus that is flexible while maintaining display performance.